The Hindu : Front Page : Manmohan leaves for U.S., France

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Tuesday, Sep 23, 2008
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Manmohan leaves for U.S., France

Special Correspondent

Civil nuclear issue to figure in Bush-PM talks

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday left for a 10-day visit to the United States and France. After a technical halt at Frankfurt, he will leave for New York on Tuesday for the 63rd session of the United National General Assembly (UNGA).

The highlight of Dr. Singh’s U.S. visit will be his meeting with U.S. President George Bush in Washington on September 25 to discuss the “entire range of issues on our bilateral agenda, including our civil nuclear initiative,” he said in a pre-departure statement. “They will be carrying forward their discussions during the G-8 summit in Hokkaido, Japan, and we expect them to review the progress of a wide range of initiatives in the last three years that have transformed the relationship,” noted Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon.

On the sidelines of the UNGA, Dr. Singh will meet Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to review progress in trade and people-to-people contacts and discuss global issues on which both countries hold similar views.

The talks will be held in the context of the document ‘Vision for the 21st Century’ signed by Dr. Singh and Mr. Wen which covers economy, politics, energy, nuclear, climate change, terrorism, regional trade, defence and border issues.

Dr. Singh will also meet Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and reiterate India’s concern over continuing cross-border terrorism and frequent incidents of ceasefire violations. The two could make an announcement on improving bilateral ties. The Prime Minister will also meet leaders of Italy, the U.K. and Namibia.

Interspersed by his Washington visit, Dr. Singh’s engagements at the U.N. include the event on the Millennium Development Goals. He will reiterate India’s call to democratise the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the need to reform international institutions. His call to expand the UNSC will come against the backdrop of the U.N. agreeing to begin inter-governmental negotiations on the issue next year. “That certainly means progress, but it is difficult to speculate [on any timeline],” observed Special Secretary (Political) in the Ministry for External Affairs Vivek Katju. There is no possibility of an early breakthrough, as almost 200 countries will be involved in the negotiations comprising several blocs with varying formulations on how to expand the UNSC.

Dr. Singh will attend the Ninth India-European Union (EU) summit at the French port city of Marseilles. “The EU is our largest trading partner with whom we enjoy a multi-faceted strategic partnership. We have diverse areas of cooperation, including in the area of counter-terrorism, which I will seek to strengthen,” said Dr. Singh’s pre-departure statement. He will also be present at the India-EU Business summit to be held on the sidelines of the India-EU Summit.

Dr. Singh will then travel to Paris for a bilateral meeting with French President Nicolas Sarkozy to consolidate ties in the areas of trade and investment, defence, space, civil nuclear cooperation and high technology. Both countries are working on a pact on nuclear cooperation and will sign an agreement on civil aviation.

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